Insurance Firms Discover Mobile Pays After Hurricane Irma

September 19, 2024         By: Steven Anderson

Hurricane Irma, the second major hurricane to hit the United States in recent weeks, left a whole lot of damage behind it. However, it also left behind a very important piece of information for insurance companies: an investment in a mobile presence is a development that’s paying big dividends, especially after a major disaster.

While millions are still without power in the Florida area, most still have cell phones and some kind of backup system sufficient to keep the little devices charged, reports note. In fact, following Irma’s landfall, about 37 percent of customer-filed claims have come in via online system, according to Security First’s vice president of marketing Marissa Buckley. Of these, more than half were completed via mobile.

Security First, the second-largest home insurer in Florida, developed its mobile app with PointSource’s help back in June 2016. The app not only allowed for claims to be filed, but also allowed users to pay premiums with a built-in customer portal. Several other services are included, among these a storm tracker service that proved popular during Hurricane Irma.

Security First actually launched redoubled promotional efforts in the days leading up to the storm, landing an extra 50,000 users or so to the lists. It also used new promotions to hire on an extra 1,100 catastrophe professionals ahead of the storm, which would help run claims through the system faster. That was a good plan, because Security First is currently tackling about 4,800 claims a day. The company also hopes to automate more of its claims response systems going forward.

That may not be a great plan; considering the hash the algorithms are currently making of YouTube, putting hurricane damage claims in the hands of the machines might result in a lot of very unhappy customers ready to jump ship. It also gives competitors a nice marketing sound bite about not trusting your family’s well-being to a computer program. That’s just speculative, though, and in the short term Security First has demonstrated the kind of impact that mobile payments, and mobile systems in general, can have on a person’s life.

It’s a safe bet we’ll see more companies work this way—mobile operations really can help make insurers and other companies more efficient—if for no other reason than it works so well.